


First Period

by PeregrineBones



Category: Carry On - Rainbow Rowell, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Coming of Age, Family, M/M, Vampires, parenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-15
Updated: 2016-11-15
Packaged: 2018-08-30 16:00:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8539402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PeregrineBones/pseuds/PeregrineBones
Summary: Changes are in store for Remus and Sirius' oldest daughter Aurora. Baz helps out.





	

The Saturday morning Aurora Lupin-Black got her period was a clear bright October day, the air crisp and tangy. She awoke in her dormitory in her four poster bed, the golden sunshine pouring in the window and warming her legs through the coverlet. She looked across the room at the forms of her two best mates, Merryweather Shacklebolt and Ivy Bones, still sleeping peacefully. She had to get up; Quidditch practice was at nine. She still could not believe she had actually made the team. Seeker for Gryffindor. Sirius had been so proud. She meant to practice feints this morning, and work on her dive.

 

Then she felt it. A low ache in her stomach, like a tug. She put her hand between her legs and felt a strange stickiness. She drew her hand to her eyes and saw the blood. Then she felt the pressure in her teeth. She looked again at Merry, sleeping beside her. Aurora sensed the blood coursing through Merry’s veins, smelled it. She could practically hear it. A new feeling rose in Aurora's chest, a yearning, an ache. She felt suddenly cold, as if the sun could no longer warm her. This was it, then, the change was here. She clutched the amulet she always wore around her neck, the one Agatha had given her. She turned her face to the wall, and wept.

 

********

 

A few miles away in a sunny bedroom above The Moon and Star Cafe, Hogsmeade’s hottest new eating spot and gastropub, Remus Lupin lay drowsing. He had a lot to do this weekend, he mused, a set of papers to grade from his fifth years on defensive spells, and he had a practical lesson to plan for Monday for his seventh years on brewing the Wolfsbane potion. He had to look up some of the theory as it had been a while since he had taught this subject. He needed to update his lecture notes. Remus stretched and heard Sirius coming up the stairs. In a moment he appeared, two cups of coffee and a plate of toast magically levitated before him.

 

“Morning sunshine,” Sirius grinned, handing Remus a cup of coffee. “Get up. It's a beautiful day!” He pulled up a chair and sat down with his coffee, handing Remus a piece of toast and then settling his legs over Remus' in the bed.

 

“Breakfast in bed, that's very gallant of you,” said Remus, smiling. _“Gallant and obvious,”_ he thought, but did not say. He didn’t mind. He smiled up at Sirius, who looked very handsome this morning, his face flushed a bit from the October air, his eyes alive with happiness and warmth.

 

“Boys up?” asked Remus

 

“Nah, still in bed.”

 

“They'll be up soon.”

 

“They can manage,” said Sirius “They're big boys now.” And it was true. Remus often came downstairs on a Saturday morning to find the boys all ready out on their broomsticks or in their tree fort, the kitchen a mess of empty cereal bowls and crumbs.

 

“How's it going downstairs?'

 

“Dory's getting things going. It's going to be a big night. We all ready have 15 reservations for dinner.”

 

“What're the specials then?” asked Remus. Sirius finished his coffee and launched himself into the bed next to Remus, propping himself up on his right elbow and looking up at him.

 

“Well lets see,” he said, brushing Remus’ hair back from his forehead and looking into his face, his grey eyes gone dark. “I've got a lovely beef tenderloin in a pomegranate reduction. That'll go fast. I should have probably got more.” He nuzzled into Remus' neck, his breath deepening. “And then that chicken cassoulet. That's always popular.” He reached up and kissed Remus' ear. “And something for the vegetarians, something autumnal.” Sirius licked and nibbled for a moment, a bit distracted, thinking about what he had in the kitchen. “Probably that risotto. You know the one,” He left Remus' ear and started working his way over the angle of Remus' jaw toward his mouth. “With the butternut squash and the nutmeg.”

 

“Mmm,” said Remus, setting his cup on the floor beside the bed and turning his head to accept Sirius' kiss, soft and full and sensual. “I love that dish.” His voice had gone gruff, almost a whisper. He returned the kiss and the room grew quiet as they lost themselves in each other.

 

Later, they lay lazily in bed, twined together, watching as a breeze ruffled the curtains, causing the sunlight to move across the floor in little waves and eddies. They were just starting to roll apart, just starting to move towards showers and clothes and the cares of the day when an owl swooped in the open window and deposited a letter on their bed.

 

“For you,” said Sirius, handing it to him.

 

“From Severus,” breathed Remus, recognizing his old companion's spidery copperplate.

 

Sirius grimaced, the old animosity still there after all these years, much as he tried to suppress it for Remus' sake, who considered Severus a friend and colleague. Remus slit the envelope, read the note and handed it grimly to Sirius, who read the few short lines quickly.

 

“Oh, fuck,” Sirius breathed.

 

“Indeed,” Remus replied.

 

******

  
When they arrived at Hogwarts, Aurora was ensconced in Remus' office. Severus was hovering nearby, his anxiety palpable. Remus hadn't really wanted a bed in there but the castle had insisted. Apparently it was some unwritten, ancient law of the school that professors be able to spend the night there, and the bed had appeared, unbidden and could not be removed. Remus was glad of it now in any case, as he sat on the edge of it and gently stroked his beautiful daughter's blond head as she lay there, face to the wall, silent tears falling from her eyes.

 

“Hello Pip,” he breathed. Her old family nickname. “All right?”

 

“Go away,” she said, her voice tight. “You don't smell right. Everything smells funny. And I'm cold.” The silent tears turned to full on sobs. “And I might bite you,” she choked out. She turned to him and then he saw them, the fangs in his lovely daughter's mouth, her eyes huge, pupils so dilated they looked black. The shock of it caught him out for a moment, and she must have sensed his distress. The look in her eyes went wild then, completely terrified, as if she did not know where to turn. Remus corrected himself, took a deep breath in, grabbed her shoulders and pulled her towards him. She buried her face in his stomach, her sobs coming full on now. Remus stroked her back. “There, there,” he soothed, “You're all right. You’re all right Pip. We’re here now. We love you. It’s going to be all right.” Sirius stood beside them, his hand on Remus' shoulder, tears running down his cheeks. After she had quieted a bit Remus said, “I'm not afraid of you, Aurora. I know you won't bite me, or anyone. I know you're stronger than that.”

 

“I want Baz,” she croaked out.

 

“He's coming, I all ready owled him,” Sirius said, sitting down on the bed beside her.

 

“Did she get the potion ?“ asked Sirius, gruffly, looking over at Snape. It was rude, but neither man noticed; the hostility between them was habitual. Severus just nodded curtly. Remus looked over briefly and saw that Sev was pale, a sign of concern. He was fond of Aurora, of all their children, but Aurora was his special pet. Over the years he had fit into their lives in the role of a stern uncle, one who rarely smiled, who often corrected their manners, but who always brought the best Christmas presents and never forgot a birthday.

 

Remus turned his attention back to his daughter. He stroked her cheek. Crowley she was cold. “We're going to get you home, now all right love? Baz is meeting us there.” Sirius lifted her onto his shoulder and Remus reached above the hearth for the floo powder and they were home in billow of green flames. Baz was standing in their sitting room, looking tense.

 

“How is she?” he asked. Remus shrugged as Sirius laid her down on the sitting room sofa. Her fangs were still popped, her face pale and streaked with tears.

 

“Baba,” she cried out reaching for him, using the old family name his daughters had coined for him as little girls. He knew she needed him, the cool feel of his skin, to be close to one of her own kind, as his daughters had, someone whom she could not hurt, whose smell didn't tempt her, didn't make her want to bite. How well he knew, and he held her, let her cry, stroked her hair back from her forehead, and “You're all right, little puff,” he said. “You're fine.”

 

Leo and Julian had appeared in the doorway and stood watching, terrified and Sirius went over to them and grabbed them both, wrapping an arm around each boy's shoulders protectively. Leo buried his face in Sirius' ribcage. Julian was still little enough to wrap his arms around Sirius' leg. Remus, suddenly overwhelmed, sat down heavily in a chair by the cold hearth.

 

“We'll go hunting soon,” Baz soothed. “I'll show you what to do, all right?” He looked over at Remus “She needs blood,” he said. “Might as well get on with it. Did Severus give her the potion?”

 

Remus nodded and then Baz was helping her up and out the back door, her fangs still popped, her white nightgown blowing around her knees. They went through the back door, into the dappled sunlight of the garden and then disappeared into the woods. Sirius and Remus were left alone with their two boys. Remus put his head in his hands. Julian, who was only seven, started crying and Sirius bent down and hugged him, stroking his back soothingly.

 

“Oh Merlin,” sighed Remus as Leo came over and sat on the arm of his chair, too big to be hugged but wanting comfort. Remus put his arm around his shoulders and ruffled his hair. “We're all right,” he said, wondering if it was true. “She'll be all right. Baz is looking out for her.” The shock of seeing those fangs was still registering. Filtering through his mind. Something you see that changes your life forever. He realized in all the years he'd been friends with Baz he'd never seen... that. The fangs.

 

He had known it was coming of course, but somehow that didn't make it any easier. He'd known for years, ever since the night when he and Sirius had looked at each other and agreed, without saying a word, to adopt the pale little girl that had just been bitten, to take her into their lives. It was a windy night in November, the promise of snow in the air. They were sitting around the fire at Baz and Simon's after a family dinner, the adults drinking wine and chatting, the children winding down towards sleep. Remus and Sirius were all ready parents, they had adopted Leo nearly three years before, and he tumbled with Baz and Simon's brood as if he were one of them. Then Fiona had blown in with Aurora, pale, barely breathing, speechless with fright, her eyes huge. She was five years old.  Baz had looked at Fiona and said, “Fi, we just can't.” Then Remus had looked at Sirius, and Sirius had looked back, a long look and a curt nod, and Sirius had spoken up, his voice husky. “We can take her.”

 

“Those ...teeth,” breathed Leo softly, breaking Remus from his reverie and mirroring his thoughts. He realized that the boys had seen the fangs, too.

 

“She'll be all right,” repeated Remus, trying to sound more certain than he felt. “We'll all be all right. We need.... tea,” he said. “She'll be hungry when she gets back. We should have food for her.”

 

“No she won't,” said Leo, wisely. “She'll be full of blood.”

 

“Well, the rest of need to eat,” said Remus, firmly, taking Leo by the shoulder and leading him into the kitchen. “Come along, you can help me.”

 

*******************

 

Baz sat in the back garden, watching Leo and Julian play Wizarding badminton. It was a lot like Muggle badminton except that the birdies would occasionally turn into real birds and hurl themselves at the player's heads, screaming insults. Also, there were a couple of small bright blue bludgers, the size of tennis balls, that flew around, knocking the birdies off course, threatening the players and generally making things interesting. The sounds and scents from the kitchen of the Moon and Star Cafe drifted over him. It was the lull between lunch and dinner, but the staff inside was busy, prepping for an anticipated busy Saturday night. He heard the back door open and Remus came out, holding two glasses of cider and handed one to Baz. Silently, they raised their glasses to each other. Silently they drank.

 

“It's been a day,” sighed Remus at last.

 

“It has,” Baz agreed.

 

“She's sleeping now. Sirius is sitting with her.” Then after a moment, Remus shuddered. “Those fangs.”

 

“ A bit shocking for you, I suppose,” said Baz lightly.

 

“I've never seen that before.” Then after a moment, “I've never seen yours.”

 

“And hopefully you never shall. Listen I need to get home. She'll be fine for tonight. I'll be back tomorrow She needs to hunt every day for a while.”

 

“I.....you can't be here every day,” said Remus, hesitantly, thinking “Every day? However does Baz manage?”

 

“No, but I can for the next few days, and she's catching on quickly. She'll be able to go out on her own soon enough.”

 

“I... thank you, said Remus weakly. “I don't really know how to thank you enough. I don't think we could manage this on our own.”

 

“I'm glad to do it,” he said. “I love Aurora as if she were one of my own. Besides,” he said with a rueful smile, “Girls getting their period and craving blood is kind of theme around my house. I've managed it before,” Both of Baz's daughters had been turned and both were older than Aurora.

 

There was silence for a few moments. “No one helped me, you know,” said Baz, looking off into the distance. “I had to figure it all out on my own. How to hunt, how to hide my fangs, how to not ….. hurt anyone.... I was absolutely terrified.”

 

“How did you ever figure it out?”

 

“I was a proud little bastard,” said Baz, remembering. “Haughty, really. I used to sneak down into the catacombs and drain rats by my mother's grave. It was all very morbid.”

 

“Poor Baz.”

 

“I know, I'm starting to feel sorry for myself just thinking about it. Simon used to sneak around after me, trying to figure out what I was doing down there. He did figure it out too, the bastard, eventually!”

 

“Were you...?”

 

“In love with him? Oh yes. Besotted really. I knew, even then, at 15, I knew.....I couldn't decide whether to kiss him or bite him. I was a complete mess.” With a short laugh Baz shook himself and stood. “I think I'll pull the girls from school tomorrow and bring them round with me, all right? The three of them can hunt together.”

 

“Oh, Aurora'd love that”

 

“Tomorrow then,” said Baz. He walked out past the gate. “ **There’s no place like home,** ” he said, clicked his heels together once sharply, and he was gone.

 

*******

 

Late that night a fire crackled quietly in Aurora's room as she slept. An autumn storm had arrived, and the rain sounded loud on the slate roof of Aurora’s tower room. Tabitha the cat sat at the window, staring out protectively at the wet garden. In a chair beside the bed, Remus sat reading by a small lamp, which he had draped with a red scarf to keep the light low. He had magicked the chair so that the end extended making it more like a bed. Wrapped in a wool shawl, a pot of tea on the table beside him, he was settled in for the night. He was correcting papers, absorbed in his work, when he looked up to see Aurora watching him. Her pupils were dilated in the low light, her hand was clutched around the amulet at her throat.

 

“All right, love?” he asked gently. He held out his arms and Aurora left her bed and snuggled in next to him in the big chair. He stroked her head. “How's it going with the period?” he asked.

 

“Okay, I guess,” she said, taken aback. She had kind of forgotten about her period with everything else that had happened.

 

“Have everything you need? Pads and things?'

 

“Yes, Moony.”

 

“Know how to attach them and everything?”

 

“Moony! Yes!”

 

“I have some muggle aspirin, you know. Its supposed to be good for cramps.”

 

“ 'mfine.”

 

“Have some tea then. Raspberry leaves and catnip. It's very soothing,” he said, handing her a cup. Her hands were cold and she wrapped them around the warm cup gratefully.

 

“How do you know so much about periods?” she asked him.

 

“I looked it up,” said Remus, smiling at her. “Figured I better be prepared.”

 

She sipped her tea. “When it comes time to talking about birth control, I’m your man there, too,” said Remus. “I’ve done all the research.”

 

“Moony, ick!”

 

“Just saying.”

 

She looked at him thoughtfully. “You never had a girlfriend?”

 

“No, I never did, only boyfriends,” he said touching her lightly on the nose.

 

“When Sirius was in prison?”

 

“Yes, then.”

 

“Did you love them?”

 

“Some, a little. Not the way I love Sirius.”

 

“Did you miss him terribly?”

 

“Yes, I did.”

 

“Was it very hard?”

 

“Yes, it was terrible. I hope you never have to go through anything like that.” Remus hugged her closer.

 

They sat there quietly, watching the fire, listening to the rain. The shadows danced on the round walls of the little room.

 

“I’m not going to do any of that,” Aurora said into the fire. “Kissing and… that.”

 

“Sex?”

 

“Yes. Ewww.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“I’m not interested.”

 

“You might change your mind in a few years,” said Remus gently.

 

“I won’t,” she said. She twirled a lock of hair around her finger. “What if I bite someone?”

 

“Oh,” said Remus. He looked into her pale face. “Is that what’s worrying you?”

 

She nodded.

 

“I hadn’t really thought of that,” said Remus, although actually he had. “I think it would be all right, though. Baz kisses Simon, and they’re fine. Didn’t Anya have a boyfriend last year? Didn’t they kiss?”

 

“Yes,” said Aurora knowingly. “They did.”

 

“Anya’s gone through the change and she didn’t bite him, did she? What was that bloke’s name again?”

 

“Nathan,” said Aurora with a giggle. “They broke up, though.”

 

“Good. She can do better,” said Remus thoughtfully. He squeezed Aurora around her thin shoulders.“It’ll be all right, Pip. You’ll see. You’ll work it out.”

 

“You worked it out, didn’t you Moony?” she said.

 

“I did. It took me a little while, but, yes, I did.”

 

She snuggled in closer and laid her head on his shoulder. He could tell she was getting sleepy.

 

“Come on, back to bed,” he said, and led her over to her bed and tucked her in.

 

“Are you staying here all night?” she asked, yawning.

 

“Yes, love, all night.” He kissed her cool forehead gently.

 

“Sing to me,” she said, sleepily, so Remus sang. He sang the old Welsh songs he'd learned as a child, that he'd sung to his own children when they were little, magical songs, from the time before the Romans, before writing came to the British Isles. He sang until her breathing slowed and her cool hand relaxed and drifted from his.

 

He settled back in his chair and listened to the crackling of the fire and the rain pattering on the roof in the quiet room. He had just started marking papers again when he heard a soft creak on the stairs and Sirius entered, holding two glasses. Remus put a finger to his lips and took a glass gratefully. Sirius settled on the floor beside his chair. Remus ran his fingers through Sirius’ hair. He was getting sleepy, too.

 

“You coming to bed?” Sirius whispered.

 

“Best not,” Remus whispered back. “I promised her I'd stay the night. How'd the dinner go?”

 

“We served 156.” Their best night yet. “It was a bit chaotic but Dory was a rock and we got through it.”

 

“How'd the beef go over?”

 

“Gone in the first hour. I'll get more next time. I saved you out some risotto. You can have it for lunch tomorrow.”

 

“Thanks. I'll cash out the till in the morning. It can wait for once.”

 

Remus scritched Sirius' head, and Sirius felt sigh with pleasure and lean back against his knee. The whiskey warmed him and he realized how tired he was. His eyes were starting to close. It had been an exhausting day. They had got through it, though, he mused, and they were together, here in this little house on the edge of the village, his family, his and Sirius', the one they had built together. He still didn't know quite how it had happened. He looked at his beautiful daughter, sleeping peacefully, with her innocent heart and the terrible fate upon her. He knew he would do anything to keep her safe, and to help her face that fate with courage.

 

He felt Sirius' head, warm and heavy against his knee, heard his breathing slow. “Go on to bed, Pads, he whispered. “She'll be fine til morning.” Sirius shook himself like a dog and rose, kissed Remus on the forehead just at the hairline, and went quietly downstairs, leaving the door ajar. Remus took out his wand and, with a simple gesture, extinguished the light.


End file.
